Halloween with Miss Percy Parker

Hello friends!

Well it has certainly been a glorious time for costuming in my world. You may recall in my last post that I was going to dress up as Miss Percy Parker, the heroine of my Strangely Beautiful series for my favourite day of the year, Halloween. Friends and I went to Dances of Vice for the big Hallows day - I love these people, they really know how to throw a cross-genre, history lovers' party. Now I did have pictures done professionally at the venue, however those are going to take a while to get to me, so in the meantime, from my not professional camera, may I present to you, Miss Percy Parker! And special guest (and really good sport of a boyfriend) Professor Alexi Rychman (Imagine him with longer hair, a bit older, and it's about right...) :

What was really incredible was to see how people reacted to me- to Percy. It being Halloween aside, when people expect outlandish looks, I still really had a sense of what she goes through. Especially when I would look people in the eyes with those ice-blue contacts I'm wearing, there were gazes of fascination, curiosity, outright shudders as I met their gaze- It confirmed all the little daggers of not being able to belong, of being a curiosity, all those little hurts that en masse would indeed make a sweet girl quite shy and withdrawn. And make the man that loved her all the more special. Stay tuned for the professional shot, I saw the proof that night - it's gorgeous.
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As always, The Great Pumpkin Blaze in the Historic Hudson Valley was one of my favourite events of the year. Thanks to Biz of Biz Urban Photography for this unique shot!

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In film/tv news, I got to see a real live movie car crash on The Adjustment Bureau where I worked again, this time as a stand-in. Must admit, that was pretty cool. Happy to report Matt Damon continues to be a prince of a man, dedicated to his craft, and lookin' good.

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In Miss Percy Parker news:
She's a Recommended Read at CK2s Kwips and Kritiques!

Thanks Debbie!

AND The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker has been chosen as a Hidden Gem of 2009 by Rhapsody Book Club! This is really exciting and great national exposure for the Strangely Beautiful series. I'll be doing an audio excerpt of the book for their site to go up at the end of November so stay tuned!

Blessings to all!

I Love Dress-Up (or, This Is How You MacGyver a Bustle)

So last evening, many of our author crew attended the Dances of Vice 1700's meets the 70's party at the inimitable Montauk Club as seen here.










A big thank you to my fine photographic sources the Rebels, Marianne Mancusi (and often guest photographer Jacob) and Liz Maverick











I tried my hybrid best between 1700's and 70's.
But somehow everything I do is a little Victorian.
I can't help it. It's who I am, and what I do.
The purple velvet pants and the Lennon glasses were my 70's nod. However those glasses are strikingly like the ones Gary Oldman wore as Dracula. Back to Victorian. I can't escape from the love-affair.






Note: MacGyvered Bustle, created by a simple length of Tulle clumped together and threaded through the back bottom lace of my corset just so to affect the bustling layer over the longer length of the train. Genius.







People were serious about costumes. That's what I love about these Dances of Vice events, they are to-the-nines on costumes, and the beautiful venue maximized the effect.












We take costuming seriously too.
(Hope Tarr, me, Elizabeth K. Mahon, Jacob)
And we seriously discuss costuming.












No. Seriously.















I mean, DEAD serious...














Of course not even my feathered up-do could distract from the dauntingly brilliant Alisa Kwitney




































(L to R, Hope Tarr, me, Alisa Kwitney, Marianne Mancusi (sometimes she's blonde!), Megan Frampton, Elizabeth K. Mahon, Liz Maverick)

Much, much dress-up-licious fun. And I'm sure we'll do it again, whenever the Dress-up Lords call their minions forth. We'll be there.